Selector arrangement for indicating the location of elevator cars



Sept 15, 1.964 wm. GLASER, ETAL 3,149,305 SELECTOR ARRANGEMENT FOR INDICATING- THE LOCATION 0F ELEVATOR CARS Filed April 1e, 1962 United States Patent O 3,149,305 SELECTOR ARRANGEMENT FOR INDICATING THE LGCATION F ELEVATR CARS William Frank Glaser, Eastchester, NY., and Arthur Ennis Prince, Suecasunna, NJ., assignors to Otis Elevator Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 16, 1962, 'Ser'. No. 187,896 16 Claims. (Cl. 340-21) This invention relates to elevator control systems.

More particularly, it is concerned with the production at some remote location of an accurate representation of the physical location of the elevator car as it traverses its hoistway and the utilization of this representation in the control of the elevator.

In the elevator art it is usual to provide means for registering calls for the service of the car and to co-ordinate the location of the car with all sucn calls registered in order to cause the car to travel in an orderly fashion to floors to which passengers wish to be taken and to pass without stopping those intervening iloors for which no service demand then exists. Such action requires that there be available an accurate representation of the cars location in its hoistway. Various types of machines, frequently called floor selectors, have been employed to produce this representation of the physical location of the car. Some of these have used a crosshead that is moved in synchronism with car movement to carry contacting brushes into contact with electric circuit terminals that are located at levels corresponding to the building landings. These terminals are activated or not in accordance with the requirements for service. Still others have used metallic strips or vanes mounted in the hoistway at positions corresponding to the various landings and magnetically actuated switches mounted on the car to be actuated as car movement brings a switch into contiguous relationship with one or another such vane. A Variety of arrangements of this latter type are known, one such being disclosed in U.S. Patent 2,875,853, issued March 3, 1959, to Joseph I-I. Borden.

Generally speaking, arrangements of the former type are relatively costly machines whereas those of the latter type offer certain economies of cost which make them especially attractive for certain types of elevator systems. These latter types, however, have been found to be subject to malfunctioning for a variety of reasons with the result that they not uncommonly give a false indication of the cars locations. Also, they are susceptible to calls registered while the car is adjacent the calling floor but having progressed too far to stop at that floor. Under such circumstances a false stop may be made at the next adjacent door.

It is therefore an object of this invention to make possible the production of an indication of the car position in such manner that it may be utilized with the signal and control apparatus for controlling the movements of the car through a mechanism of relatively simple and economical design.

It is a further object of this invention to achieve the foregoing objective through the use of an arrangement that is virtually foolproof against malfunctioning under all commonly encountered conditions.

In one embodiment of the invention, which will be described herein, paired metallic vanes are employed near each landing intermediate the two terminal landings. These are used not only to produce an indication of the cars position, but also to initiate the action by which a car is stopped at a hoor landing. To eifect this latter function, the distance of the vane from its landing is coordinated with the speed of the elevator with which it is to be used. As a result, a single uniform length of vane will accommodate a wide range of elevator speeds, while 3,149,3@5 Patented Sept. 15, 1964 ICC still providing an unvarying distance for slowdown and stopping which distance is appropriate for the speed of the individual elevator with which it is to be used. Thus, diiferent operating speeds no not require use of different length vanes.

In this embodiment to be described it will be noted that the same inductor switch is used for both directions of car travel in an arrangement utilizing two such switches, each of which is activated at alternate floors. This makes possible, among other desirable achievements, the avoidance of a false stop at a floor next to the one from which the car is departing when a call is registered at that latter floor at the time the car is near it, which phenomenon has characterized most if not all previously known arrangements of this type employing inductor switches.

These and other advantages will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention when read in conjunction with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE l is a diagrammatic representation of an elevator system in which the staggered relation of the hatchway vanes at adjacent ftoors is shown;

FIGURE 2 shows in schematic form the essential portions of a simplified elevator control circuit including the call registration and direction control circuits; and

FIGURE 3 shows schematically the relationship of the elements of the inductor switch controlled relay stepping arrangement for producing a remote indication of the location of the car in the hoistway.

The invention will be explained in connection with the essential parts of a control system which would be suitable for use in a simplified type of elevator such as a single speed selective collective system. In this explanation reference will be made only to those parts of the control system that are necessary for producing a representation of the cars location and for co-ordinating that representation with car and landing calls in such manner as to control properly the car movements. It is to be understood that the actuation of the motor control circuits to effect the starting and stopping of the elevator is to be accomplished in any suitable manner, a number of which are Well known in the art. In accordance with this plan to simplify the explanation of this embodiment, those circuits associated with the control of the doors, the leveling operation, bypass operation and for other conventional operating functions which have no specific connection with the invention here disclosed will be omitted,

In the accompanying drawing letter designations have been shown with the representation of the coil of particular switches and relays. Also, these same letter designations together with appended numerical designations have been indicated for the relay or switch contacts that are operated in response to energization of the respective coil. These designations are associated with switches or relays performing circuit operations as indicated below.

1C, 2C, 3C, etc Car-call relay* 2U, 2D, 3U, 3D, etc. Hall call relay* D Down-direction switch E Inductor switch for even floors EV Even floor relay 1FL, ZFL, SFL, etc. Floor position relays* NT Loading time relay O Inductor switch for odd oors OD Odd floor relay S Starting switch (operate coil) SR Starting switch (release coil) U Up-direction switch XD Auxiliary down-direction relay XU Auxiliary 11p-direction relay Z Zone relayk Relays designated with an asterisk are of the latching type. The starting switch is a double coil relay having an operate coil and a release coil.

Referring now to the drawings it will be noted from FIGURE l that a hoisting machine having a rotating sheave 103 supports a car lill and its counterweight IM on hoist ropes 105 to serve a building which, for purposes of explanation, has been shown as having four landings. Call registering fixtures are provided at each landing, there being up and down call buttons ZSU, ZSD, etc. at the intermediate landings and single buttons lSU and TSD at the bottom and top landings, respectively. Car call buttons ISC etc. are provided in the car. Inductor switch assemblies 99(0), IGME) are mounted in any suitable manner on the exterior of the car in positions of vertical alignment with suitable vanes l2, 12A, 12B, etc. which are mounted in the hoistway at positions to associate closely with the inductors 99, Miti as the car approaches a landing. That is to say, each vane is located at a predetermined position both vertically and laterally. In the lateral sense it is so located that it cornes into fairly close association with the face of the inductor as the car approaches the landing. In the vertical sense, the position of the edge of a predetermined vane is coordinated With the speed of the elevator such that the car platform is the desired stopping distance from the landing as the inductor leaves said vane edge. This correlation between car speed and vane location is desirable as it permits the use of vanes of uniform length for a variety of car speeds and stopping distances. Terminal limit switches 1L and 4L are mounted in the hoistway in positions to be actuated by cam 1&2 mounted on the side of car lill as the car nears the terminals.

At this time it should be noted that the vanes I2 to 12E are arranged in two vertical columns. Varies l2, 12C and IZD associated with the odd floors (lower terminal and third landing, respectively), are in one column and serve to actuate odd floor inductor 99. Vanes 12A, IZB and 12E associated with the even floors (second landing and top terminal, respectively) are in another column and serve to actuate inductor Itl. As will be explained shortly, this two-column arrangement acts to prevent the presentation of a false indication of car location in the event of a momentary power failure or other happenings such as have caused false indications in earlier systems using only a single row of vanes for one direction of travel.

ln the following explanation in which reference will be made to FIGURES 2 and 3, it will be understood that the relay contacts are shown for the de-energized condition of the relay coil in the case of single coil relays, and in the case of latching type relays the contact position corresponds to the reset condition. In the case of the start switch having an operate coil S and a release coil SR, the contact positions correspond to the release coil having been the last energized.

In this explanation it will be assumed that the elevator is standing at the lower terminal (first floor). In this position it has actuated limit switch II. by cam 162 to close contacts ILl in the circuit of operate coil IFL of the floor position relay for the first floor and to open contacts lLZ in the circuit of coil D of the down-direction switch. Contacts ELI in closing caused the first floor position relay to assume its operated or set position, opening its contacts IFLI in the circuit of coil XD of the auxiliary down direction switch and closing its contacts IFLZ in the circuit of coil ZPL, contacts ilFLS in the circuit of reset coil Ir of the first floor position relay, and contacts llFL4 in the circuit of the reset coils of the first floor landing and car call registration relays.

Assume now that an intending passenger at the second landing registers an up call by pushing botton ZSU and an intending passenger at the third landing registers a down call by pushing button 38D. These actions cause the operate coils 2U and 3D, as the case may be, to becorne energized by circuits extending from the positive (-1-) main through line litt, contacts ZSU or 35D, coils 2U or 3D of the hall call registering relays and line lltia or lltlb and Il to the negative main. Second floor up hall call relay closes its contacts ZUll in the circuit of reset coil 2U of the up hall call relay and EUS in the circuit of lamp L2 without immediate effect. Contacts ZUZ in the direction determining circuit are also closed to cause energization of coil XU of the auxiliary up direction relay from the positive main though closed contacts NT2, lines llo and I7, contacts ZUZ, ZFLS, SFLl, LtFLI, coil XU, and closed contacts D3, XDl and 4L2 to the negative main. Third floor down hall call relay closes its contacts SDI, 3D2 and 3D3 without immediate effect. The auxiliary up direction relay closes its contacts XUS, parallellng contacts NT2 as a holding circuit, and causes energization of operate coil S of the starting switch through contacts XUI. Contacts XUZ close in the circuit of coil U of the up direction switch without immediate effect. Operate coil S is energized through the circuit from positive main through line 2l, contacts XUI, NTT, line 22, coil S to the negative main. The starting switch closes its contacts Sil in the circuit of coil S to establish a holding circuit, contacts S2 in the circuit of coil U of the up direction switch and contacts S4 and SS in the circuits of lamps L2 and L3. These latter two are ineffective at this time. In addition, contacts S3 are opened (without effect) in the call reset circuit.

Coil U is energized from the positive (-1-) main through line 24, contacts S2, XUZ, line 2.5, coil U, line 26, and contacts D3, XDI and rtLZ to the negative main. The up direction switch causes movement of the car by actuating the hoisting motor and releasing the brake in any convenient conventional manner. This control action is not part of the subject invention, is well known and is not to be described herein for purposes of brevity. In addition, contacts Uit in the circuit of ccil NT of the loading time relay are closed to energize that coil and to charge capacitor 32 through its connected resistor; contacts U2 in the circuit of coil U close to prepare a holding circuit for that coil after car movement causes actuation of the even or odd floor relays; contacts U3 open in the circuit of down direction switch coil D to prevent down direction of travel until up travel isl completed and in the car and landing call reset circuits contacts Ult open without immediate effect.

As the car moves upward from the lower terminal odd inductor 9? coacts with vane I2 to cause closing of odd contacts Sid-4t), but this is ineffective because corrtacts Z4 of the zone relay are separated, the relay having been reset when the car previously approached the terminal.

Upon further car movement the even floor inductor liti@ coacts with vane 12A, as it meets its lower edge. This causes even contacts Eff-ttl to close and through now closed contacts Zi to energize coil EV of the even floor relay. This relay closes its contacts EV?. to be effective as a holding circuit for coil EV after the closing of contacts BVI in the circuit of coil Z of the zone relay causes that coil to be energized to open contacts Z1 in parallel with contacts EVE. In addition, the zone relay closes contacts Z2 in circuit with coil lr to cause resetting or unlatching of rst floor position relay, opens contact Z3 in the circuits of reset coils 2r and tr of the floor position relays; closes contacts 7.4i to prepare a circuit for the eventual energization of operate coil GD of the odd floor relay and close contacts Z5 in the circuit of reset coil Zr of the zone relay to be energized at the next odd floor position. Contacts EVS are also closed in the circuit of reset coil SR of the starting switch to prepare a circuit for the energization of this coil and resetting of that switch. Contacts BVI-t in circuit with coil U of the up direction switch are closed to hold the up direction switch operated for the time that the vane 12A and inductor 160 are in coi-operative position.

Simultaneously with the closing of even contacts 36-40, coil ZFL of the second floor position relay is energized through the circuit including contacts :i6-eti', XU3, 1FL2 and coil ZFL. This causes contacts ZFLI to open and contacts ZFLZ and ZFLS to close without immediate effect. Also, contacts ZFIA in the hall and car call reset circuit are closed to cause the release of the starting switch by energizing coil SR through the circuit including closed contacts EV3, 2FL4, XD, 2U1 and reset coil 2U of the second floor up hall call registering relay. The starting switch in releasing causes the holding circuit for coil S to be opened at contacts Sl, contacts S2 in the circuit of coil U to be opened without immediate effect and contacts S3 in the call reset circuit to be closed completing a circuit for energizing reset coil 2U through resistor R1, line 41a, contacts EV3, 2FL4, XD6, ZUl and coil 2U to cancel the second oor up hall call.

As continued car movement causes disassociation of inductor 100 and vane 12A at the upper edge of the vane, contacts 364tl are separated opening the circuits through coil ZFL (without immediate effect) and coil EV or" the even floor relay to initiate the actual stopping operation. The even floor relay opens contacts EVT in the circuit of coil Z, contacts EVZ in its holding circuit, contacts EVS in the call reset circuit and contacts EV4 in circuit with coil U of the up direction switch; The de-energization of coil U brings about the actual stopping operation as it causes opening of the contacts in the motor control and brake circuits (not shown) in the conventional manner. In addition, contacts Uli separate in the circuit of coil NT to cause the timing of the loading time relay to be started by the discharge of the energy stored in capacitor 32 through its connected resistor and coil NT. As is well understood, this timing determines the interval the car will remain at the floor. Contacts U2 open in the circuit of coil U to cease their holding function and contacts U4 close in the call reset circuit to cancel any up hall call that may have been registered at the second iloor after the car stopping sequence was initiated and the previously described call reset operation Was completed.

Following upon the discharge of capacitor 32. through coil NT to a point where that coil is no longer energized in excess of its drop-out value the loading time relay releases, reengaging its contacts NTI in the circuit of operate coil S of the starting switch. It also reengages its contacts NT2 in the direction control circuit but this is without effect as coil XU had remained energized through contacts XUS, 3D2, SFLS, 4FL1, coil XU, contacts D3, XDl and 4L2. Coil S is reenergized through line 21, contacts XUl and NTL as before, to cause self-holding contacts S1 to close as well as contacts S2 in circuit with coil U of the up direction switch. This completes a circuit for coil U through contacts S2, XUZ, coil U, contacts D3, XDl and L2 to cause restart of the car upwardly in the conventional manner.

If no further calls were registered the car would proceed to the third landing to pick up the down call there, however, let us assume that the second floor passenger upon entering pressed car button TSC for the top terminal, thereby energizing the operate coil TC to close contacts TCI in the top floor car call reset coil circuit and contacts TCZ in circuit with coil XU in the direction determining circuit.

As the car proceeds upwardly from the second landing its inductor 100 meets vane 12B to cause closing of even contacts 36248 without eifect since the zone relay is in the set position at this time and the car is leaving an even floor. Continued movement brings inductor 99 near vane 12C for the third Hoor at which a down call is registered. As the inductor and vane assume their effective positions, odd contacts 36-40 are closed to cause energization of coils OD, SFL and Zr.

Coil OD is energized through now closed contacts Z4 and causes its holding contacts CD1 to engage. Contacts ODZ are closed in circuit with closed contacts Z5 and causes coil Zr to be energized and unlatch or reset the zone relay. Contacts OD3 are closed (without immediate effect) in the call reset circuit and contacts OIMl are closed in circuit with coil U to establish a holding circuit through closed contacts U2. Contacts OD'o in circuit with lamp L3 are opened. The purpose of this circuit will be explained subsequently.

Simultaneously with the closing of odd" contacts 36-40, operate coil 3EL of the third floor position relay is energized through these contacts and contacts XU4 and 2FL2. This causes opening of contacts 3FL1 and 3FL5 in the direction determining circuit Without effect as coil XU is maintained energized through closed contacts TCZ. Contacts 3FL2 in circuit with coil ZFL are closed (without effect), as are contacts 3FL3 in circuit with the reset coil 3f of the third floor position relay. Contacts 3FL4 in circuit with the reset coil 3D of the third landing down call relay are closed, but this down call relay will not be reset at this time because auxiliary up direction relay contacts XU6 are separated. Contacts 3FL6 and 3FL7 in circuit with lamp L3 are closed, for a purpose to be explained later.

When reset coil Zr was energized and the zone relay Z was thereby reset, it caused reclosing of contacts Z1 in circuit with coil EV of the even floor relay and contacts Z3 in circuit with the reset coils 4r and 2r of the even floor position relays. Inasmuch as contacts 2FL3 are now closed, reset coil 2r is energized to reset the second floor position relay.

As inductor 99 leaves vane 12C, odd contacts 36-40 are separated de-energizing coils OD and SPL. This has no effect on the third floor position relay as it remains latched in its operated condition. De-energization of coil OD causes opening of its holding contacts ODI and its contacts ODZ in the circuit of reset coil Zr of the zone relay which is now in its reset position. Contacts ODS in the call reset circuit, and contacts OD4 in the circuit of coil U of the up direction switch are opened without effect as coil U remains energized through closed contacts S2. Thus the car continues its upward movement, passing the third oor down call because the open contacts XU6 prevented the energization of reset coil SR of the starting switch.

As the car moves upward from the third landing odd inductor 99 coacts with vane 12D to cause closing of odd contacts 36-40, but this is ineffective since the zone relay is in the reset position at this time and the car is leaving an odd oor.

As continued car movement brings inductor 100 into position with vane 12E, even floor contacts 36'49" are closed energizing coil EV through closed contacts Z1. Contacts EV2 are closed to act as a holding circuit after the closing of contacts EVI in the circuit of operate coil Z of the zone relay causes that coil to be energized and the zone relay to be set thereby opening contacts Z1 in the circuit of coil EV. Contacts EVS and EV4 are closed Without effect at this time. Contacts EVS in circuit with lamp L2 are opened for a purpose to be later explained.

When the operate coil Z of the zone relay was energized by contacts EV). closing, contacts Z2 in circuit with coil 3i' closed to complete a circuit through contacts 36'- 40, Z2, lines 38 and 54, closed contacts 3FL3 and reset coil 3f of the third floor position relay to cause resetting of that relay. Contacts Z3 in circuit with reset coil 4t' are opened and contacts Z4 in circuit with coil OD of the odd floor relay are closed, both without immediate effect. Contacts Z5 in circuit with reset coil Zr of the zone relay are closed to prepare a circuit for the later resetting or unlatching of that relay. In addition, contacts Z6 and Z7 of lamps L2 and L3 are opened for a purpose which will be later explained. With continued movement of the car, cam ltlZ engages the top limit switch 4L to close contacts ft'Ll in circuit with coil dFL of thefourth floor position relay. This causes separa tion of contacts dFLI in the car direction determining circuit, the closing of contacts PL2 preparatory to actuation of coil BFL on the downward journey, the closing of contacts AFL?, in the circuit of reset coil dr to prepare a circuit for the later resetting of the fourth floor position relay. In the circuit of reset coil TC of the top iloor car call relay, contacts iFLi are closed. Ordinarily, this would cause the starting switch to be released to its stop position by the energization of release coil SR but since contacts 4L2 of the top limit switch 4L had previously opened the circuit of coil XU of the auxiliary up direction relay, the starting switch has already been released by the subsequent opening of contacts XUll in the circuit of operate coil S.

As cam MP2 engaged the top limit switch dL, contacts 4L2 also opened the circuit of coil U to de-energizze that coil and cause stopping of car movement by de-energizing the hoisting motor and applying the brake in the conventional manner. Contacts Ul in the circuit of coil NT of the loading time relay are opened to cause this relay to start timing by discharging the energy stored in capacitor 32. through the coil NT. Contacts U4 are closed to energize the reset coil TC of the top floor car call relay through the circuit from the positive main, contacts Ud and D4, resistance R2, lines 7l and 39, contacts AiFLA and TCL the reset coil TC of the top floor car call relay and lines lltlC and lill to the negative main.

At this point it may be noted that, under certain circumstances, it may be desirable to initiate the stopping operation at the terminal oor in the same manner as at an intermediate floor; namely, by the separation of the inductor ltltl from the top boundary of vane 12E. Such a case would be where the inductor Itltl had a more critical operate point of arrival than would be the case with the cam operated limit switch 4L. In such an event, the operate coil AFL of the fourth door position relay would be made subject to the closing of contacts on the third oor position relay and to the closing of even door contacts 36240' instead of merely the closing of limit contacts ALI, as is indicated in FIGURE 3.

After the loading time operation is completed as coil NT becomes insuiciently energized to hold the relay operated, contacts NTI close in the circuit of operate coil S and contacts NT2 close in the car direction determining circuit to complete a circuit through coil XD of the auxiliary down7 direction relay, the circuit being through contacts NT2, 3D2, lines 2da and 26h, contacts SFLS, SFLI, 2FLI, TFLI, coil XD and contacts U3, XUS and llLZ to prepare the car for downward movement in response to the down hall call previously registered at the third floor.

Energization of auxiliary down relay causes the closing of contacts XDS in circuit with contacts NTl in the circuit of operate coil S of the starting switch. This switch operates to close its contacts S2 in circuit with now closed contacts XDZ in the circuit of coil D of the down direction switch. As this switch moves to its operated position, it closes its contacts to energize the hoisting motor and release the brake in the conventional manner.

Assume now that, as the car starts on its downward movement, an up hall call is registered at the second floor and an up call is registered at the first or lobby loor by intending passengers. The second iioor call results in the closing of contacts 2Ull in the call reset circuit and contacts ZUZ in the car direction determining circuit (FIGURE 2), both without effect as long as the car is moving downward. In addition, contacts ZU3 in the circuit of lamp LZ (FIGURE 2) are closed to become operative as the car approaches the second floor for a purpose and in a manner which will be explained shortly.

When the up call was registered at the rst or lobby door, contacts llUl in the call reset circuit and contacts llUZ in the car direction circuit were closed. These latter contacts serve to secure continued downward progress of the car until it reaches the lower terminal.

As continued downward travel causes inductor 99 to come into operating proximity to vane 12D contacts 36- d@ close. The closing of these contacts completes a circuit through now closed contacts Z4 in the circuit of coil OD of the odd floor relay and through closed contacts X134 and AFLZ in the circuit of coil SPL of the third floor position relay. As previously explained, contacts ODI are closed to act as a self-holding circuit and contacts ODZ are closed in circuit with closed contacts Z5 to energize reset coil Zr of the zone relay. Actuation of the third lloor position relay causes contacts SFLl in the car direction determining circuit to open without effect since the down direction is maintained by the first oor call. Contacts SFLZ in circuit will coil 2FL are closed preparatory to the energization of this coil as the ca rapproaches the second oor. Contacts SFLS in circuit with reset coil 31' are closed preparatory to resetting the third oor position relay as the car approaches the second floor. Contacts 3FLd in the circuit of reset coil 3D are closed. Contacts SFLS in the car direction determining circuit are opened, and contacts 3FL6 and 3FL7 in the circuit of lamp L3 are closed-all without immediate effeet at this time.

As contacts 3FL4 are closed, a circuit through contacts ODS, 3FL4, XUd, 3D1 and reset coil 3D is cornpleted through the release coil SR of the starting switch to initiate the stopping operation. As this switch releases, it closes its contacts S3 to complete a circuit for the resetting of the third iloor down hall cail through contacts S3, resistance Rl, contacts CD3, 3FL4, XU6, 3D1 and reset coil 3D. Simultaneously contacts S2 are separated in the circuit of coil D of the down direction switch preparatory to start of the actual stop process as inductor 99 leaves the lower edge of vane 12D. As this happens, contacts 3&4@ are separated to de-energize coil OD of the odd iloor relay. This results in the separation of contacts ODA. in circuit with coil D of the down direction switch, at which time this coil is de-energized to cause the actual stop operation, as previously described. The release of the down direction switch closes contacts D4 to complete a circuit through contacts U4, D4, resistance R2, and lines '72, 65 and 64 to reset any car call or down call for the third floor which may have been registered as or after inductor 99 separated from the lower edge of vane lZD.

After the stop at the third floor and in the manner which has been previously described, the timing of the loading time relay causes the restart of downward travel. As inductor 99 contacts the upper edge of vane I2C, odd contacts .2id-itl are again closed, but this time without eiect since there is no completed circuit through any coil in the upper half of FIGURE 3. Continued car movement brings inductor Itltl into co-operative relation with vane 12B which brings about the actuation of the second floor position relay and resetting of the third floor position relay in a manner similar to that which has been previously described. In addition, coil EV of the even loor relay is energized to cause the closure of contacts EVT in circuit with coil Z of the zone relay. Actuation of this relay closes contacts Z6 in circuit with lamp L2 preparatory to illuminating this lamp. As continued car movement causes inductor lltitl to separate from the lower edge of vane 312B, the circuit for coil EV is disrupted, as the contacts 364' open, causing contacts EVS in series with lamp L2 to close and resulting in the illumination of this lamp to inform the up passenger at the second landing that his call is registered and he is to await the return of the car. From this explanation it will also ensue that lamp L3 will have been lighted at the third iloor while the car was passing that floor to inform the intending downward travelling passenger to await the return of the elevator car during its previously described upward travel to the top terminal. The subsequent association of inductor 160 with vane 12A has no effect. Continued car movement to the lower terminal results in the actuation of contacts 36-40 as inductor 99 coacts with vane 12 and the actuation of limit switch 1L as it encounters cam 102 with results much the same as those which were explained for the stop at the upper terminal.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that a call at any floor will be effective to stop the car at that floor so long as the inductor and co-operative vane are in operative association at that floor. Also that the registration of a call at a floor corresponding to the momentary location of the car but after separation of the vane and inductor is ineffective to cause the false stopping of the car at the next adjacent oor such as is experienced with previously known systems of this general type. This is true because of the interlocking relationship between the odd and even floor circuits and the actuation of the zone relay at even iioors and resetting of said relay at odd floors.

It will be appreciated that the described arrangement provides an accurate distance stopping arrangement and that only a single length vane section need be stocked for various speeds of service since this vane section will be located at a greater or lesser distance with respect to the stopping position to compensate for the different speeds of the car.

The mentioned vane sections e.g. 12A, 12B are separated by a gap which amounts to substantially twice the stopping distance corresponding to that determined by the speed at which the elevator car is travelling. It is to be observed that all lower vane sections are eifectively used only during upward travel of the car whereas all upper vane sections of the respective groups of vanes (for odd and even numbered oors) are effectively employed during downward car travel.

As the invention is equally useful for many diierent types of elevators, since in all cases it produces an accurate remote indication of the actual position of the car in its hoistway, it is to be expected that it may appear in changed formation to adapt it to a specific purpose. Thus slight variations in form may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

1. A selector arrangement for providing an accurate indication of the location of an elevator car as it traverses its hoistway from one floor to another in sequential order; comprising:

(a) switching means actuatable during travel of the car in said sequential order;

(b) said switching means including two switches each having associated therewith a group of switch actuating means;

(c) the switch actuating means of one group being mounted in the hoistway in correspondence with even numbered floors and the switch actuating means of the other group being similarly mounted in the hoistway in correspondence with odd numbered floors;

(d) each of said switches being mounted on said elevator car and being operative when the cars position brings said switch in cooperative relation with a respective one of said switch actuating means such that one of said switches is operated as the car approaches each even numbered floor and the other of said switches is operated as the car approaches each odd numbered oor;

(e) electric circuit means associated with each of said switches and effective when actuated to control the travel of said car, each said electric circuit means being alternately responsive to the actuation of its associated switch;

() said electric circuit means including means providl ing a varying indication of the floor location of the car as it traverses its hoistway. 2. A selector arrangement for providing an accurate indication of the location of an elevator car as it traverses its hoistway from one floor to another; comprising:

(a) switching means actuatable during travel of the car in said hoistway;

(b) said switching means including two switches each having associated therewith a group of switch actuating means;

(c) the switch actuating means of one group being mounted in the hoistway in correspondence with even numbered floors and the switch actuating means of the other group being similarly mounted in the hoistway in correspondence with odd numbered floors;

(d) each of said switches being mounted on said elevator car and being operative when the cars position brings said switch in cooperative relation with a respective one of said switch actuating means such that one of said switches is operated as the car approaches each even numbered iioor and the other of said switches is operated as the car approaches each odd numbered floor;

(e) electric circuit means associated with each of said switches and effective when actuated to control the travel of said car, said electric circuit means being responsive to the actuation of its associated switch;

(f) said circuit means including means representing oor locations of the elevator car in accordance with the operation of said switches at even and odd iioors;

(g) each of said representing means being actuated in its associated circuit means by one of said switches to thereby represent one floor location of said car.

3. An automatic elevator control system having at least one elevator car for travel at a desired speed in a hoistway to respond to service demands to and from terminal landings and intermediate landings adjacent said hoistway comprising; first control means mounted in said hoistway, said first control means including a rst group of elements comprising two spaced elements mounted to correspond with each even numbered intermediate landing and a second group of elements comprising two spaced elements mounted to correspond with each odd numbered intermediate landing; said two spaced elements corresponding with each intermediate landing being so disposed that the space between them is substantially equal to twice the stopping distance of the car traveling at said desired speed; second control means including two switches mounted on said car, each one of said switches being operative when the travel of the car brings it into cooperative relation with one of said groups of elements so that one switch is operative at even numbered intermediate landings and the other is operative at odd numbered intermediate landings; and circuit means operatively connected to said second control means for controlling the response of said elevator car to service demands.

4. An automatic elevator control system having at least one elevator car for travel at a desired speed in a hoistway to respond to service demands to and from terminal landings and intermediate landings adjacent said hoistway comprising; induction switch actuating vanes mounted in said hoistway corresponding to each intermediate landing, two said vanes having a space therebetween being mounted in correspondence with each said intermediate landing, said space between each said two vanes being substantially equal to twice the stopping distance of the car traveling at said desired speed; inductor switch means mounted on said car actuatable when the travel of said car brings said switch means into cooperative relation with said vanes; said vanes corresponding to said intermediate landings and said inductor switch means being so disposed in relation to each other that as the car approaches each intermediate landing said switch means are first actuated and then deactuated before the car arrives at each landing; and circuit means operatively connected i il to said inductor switch means and responsive thereto so that upon the actuation of said inductor switch means said circuit means operates to represent the location of the car as having arrived at a landing and upon the deactuation of said inductor switch means said circuit means operates to initiate the stopping sequence of the car provided the car is responding to a service demand at said landing represented as having been arrived at.

5. An automatic elevator control system having at least one elevator car for travel at a desired speed in a hoistway to respond to service demands to and from terminal landings and intermediate landings adjacent said hoistway comprising; vane means mounted in said hoistway, said vane means including a iirst group of vertically aligned vanes comprising two spaced vanes mounted in correspondence with each even numbered landing and a second group of vertically aligned vanes comprising two spaced vanes mounted in correspondence with each odd numbered intermediate landing; said iirst group being in one vertical plane and said second group being in another vertical plane, said vertical planes being parallel to each other; said two spaced vanes in correspondence with each intermediate landing being so disposed that the space between them is substantially equal to twice the stopping distance of the car traveling at said desired speed; two magnetic inductor switches mounted adjacent each other on said car, and in position for cooperative actuation with said columns of vanes respectively such that one switch is operative at even numbered landings and the other switch is operative at odd numbered landings; said varies and said inductor switches being so disposed in relation to each other that as the car approaches each intermediate landing the corresponding inductor switch is lirst actuated and then deactuated before the car arrives at the landing; and circuit means operatively connected to said inductor switches and responsive thereto so that upon the actuation of said corresponding inductor switch said circuit means first operates to represent the location of the car as having arrived at the landing and upon the deactuation of said corresponding inductor switch said circuit means operates to initiate the stopping sequence of the car provided the car is responding to a service demand at the landing being approached.

6. A selector arrangement according to claim l, wherein said switching means and said associated circuit means are so interconnected that during car travel one of said electric circuit means associated with one of said switches is prevented being reactuated until the other electric circuit means associated with the other switch has been actuated by its corresponding switching means, thereby to prevent the car stopping at a succeeding iioor in response to a call for a preceding floor being in registration.

7. A selector arrangement according to claim 2, wherein said two switches are magnetic inductor switches, and said actuating means are in the form of vane means.

A selector arrangement according to claim 7, wherein said vane means include pairs of spaced apart vane sections of substantially equal length, the pairs of vane sections corresponding to odd numbered floors being aligned, and the pairs of vane sections corresponding to even numbered iioors being aligned, said aligned vane sections corresponding to odd numbered iioors being disposed in staggered relation to the aligned vane sections corresponding to even numbered floors.

9. A selector arrangement for providing an accurate indication of the location of an elevator car as it traverses its hoistway; including switching means actuated by movement of the car in the hoistway, said switching means comprising two spaced apart magnetic inductor switches mounted on the elevator car and two groups of vane means located in the hoistway, one group of vane means corresponding to even numbered floors and being adapted to actuate one inductor switch, the other group of vane means corresponding to odd numbered floors and being adapted to actuate the other inductor switch, iirst and qv, Y r2 second electrical circuit means including even oor relay means, odd iioor relay means, and zone relay means having set coil means and reset coil means, said even floor relay means and said set coil means being connectable through said one inductor switch in said iirst circuit means, said odd floor relay means and said reset coil means being connectable through said other inductor switch in said second circuit means, said switching means and said first and second circuit means being so interconnected that during car movement said iirst circuit means associated with said one inductor switch is prevented being reactuated until the second circuit means associated with the other inductor switch has been actuated by its corresponding switching means and said zone relay means has been reset through said reset coil means in said second circuit means, which latter circuit means is prevented being reactuated until the irst circuit means has been actuated and said zone relay means has been set again through said set coil means in said iirst circuit means, whereby a call registered for a preceding loor will be prevented causing the car to stop at a succeeding iloor.

l0. A selector arrangement for providing an accurate indication of the location of an elevator car as it traverses its hoistway; including switching means actuated by movement of the car in the hoistway, said switching means comprising two spaced apart magnetic inductor switches mounted on the elevator car and two groups of paired vane means located in the hoistway and adapted to actuate said switches, respectively, each pair of vane means including two spaced apart vane sections, one inductor switch being actuatable by respective pairs of vane sections in correspondence with even numbered floors and the other inductor switch being operable by associated pairs of vane sections in correspondence with odd numbered iioors, said pairs of vane sections in correspondence with odd numbered floors being aligned to each other, and said pairs of vane sections in correspondence with even numbered oors being aligned to each other and arranged in staggered relation to the aligned pairs of vane sections in correspondence with odd numbered lioors, first and second circuit means including even iioor relay means, odd floor relay means, and zone relay means having set coil means and reset coil means, said odd iioor relay means and said reset coil means for said Zone relay means being operatively connected in said first circuit means, said even ioor relay means and said set coil means of said zone relay means being operatively connected in said second circuit means, said switching means and said first and second circuit means being so interconnected that during car movement said irst circuit means associated with said one inductor switch is prevented being reactuated until the second circuit means associated with the other inductor switch has been actuated by its corresponding switching means and said Zone relay means in said second circuit means has been reset, and said second circuit means is prevented being reactuated until the first circuit means has been activated and said zone relay means has been set again, whereby accurate stop of the car at a respective iioor at which a call has been registered is aorded.

1l. A selector arrangement for providing an accurate indication of the location of an elevator car as it traverses its hoistway in response to service demands; including switching means actuated by movement of the car in the hoistway, said switching means comprising two spaced apart magnetic inductor switches mounted in side-by-side relation on the elevator car and two groups of spaced apart and paired vane means located in the hoistway, corresponding to the floor, and adapted to actuate said switches, respectively, each pair of vane means including two aligned vane sections with a gap therebetween, one inductor switch being effectively actuatable by a respective one of said two vane sections corresponding to each even numbered floor, the other inductor switch being effectively actuatable by a respective one of said two vane 13 sections corresponding to each odd numbered floor, said pairs of vane sections corresponding to even numbered floors being disposed in staggered relation to the pairs of vane sections corresponding to the odd numbered floors, a plurality of electrical circuit means including even floor relay means, odd oor relay means, and zone relay means having set coil means and reset coil means, said even floor relay means and said set coil means being operatively connected in one of said circuit means, said odd oor relay means and said reset coil means being operatively connected in another of said circuit means, said switching means and said electrical circuit means being so interconnected that during car movement said one circuit means associated with said one inductor switch is prevented being reactuated until the other circuit means associated with the other inductor switch has been actuated by its corresponding switching means and said zone relay means has been reset through said reset coil means in said other circuit means, which latter circuit means is prevented being reactuated until the one circuit means has been actuated and said zone relay means has been set by said set coil means in said one circuit means.

12. In an elevator installation having a hoistway, a

plurality of landings connected to said hoistway, an elevator car having a platform and operable in said hoistway to travel therein to answer service demands to and from said landings, rst and second co-operable control means located on said car and in said hoistway, respectively, to position said car with respect to said landings during operation of said car in said hoistway, and electric circuit means including respective switch means in said circuit means operatively connected to said irst control means; comprising in combination:

(a) at least one pair of inductor switch means forming said first control means and mounted in spaced apart relation to each other on said car;

(b) and a plurality of paired vane means forming said second control means, each pair of vane means having a gap therebetween and being arranged for location corresponding to a landing, so that each vane means of a pair is about equidistantly spaced from the co-operating inductor switch means, when the latter is located in the gap between said pair and the car platform is level with the respective landing;

(c) said paired vane means being distributed with respect to each other in two groups corresponding to respective odd and even numbered landings, with pairs of vane means corresponding to odd numbered landings aligned with each other, and pairs of vane means corresponding to even numbered landings aligned with each other and arranged in alternate relation to aligned pairs of vane means corresponding to odd numbered landings;

(d) one of said inductor switch means being located for co-operation with pairs of vane means corresponding to even numbered landings, the other inductor switch means being located for co-operation with pairs of vane means corresponding to odd numbered landings so that said inductor switch means through cooperation with respective pairs of vane means operate said switch means in respective circuit means during travel of said car to thereby control the movement of the latter with respect to odd and even landings.

13. In an elevator system according to claim 12,

wherein (a) said pairs of vane means corresponding to respective odd and even numbered landings are disposed in the hoistway so that vane means for even numbered landings are vertically spaced from each other in aligned relation and are staggered with respect to the vane means for odd numbered landings which are also vertically spaced from each other in aligned relation; and

(b) said circuit means include rst contact means for use in a signaling circuit operatively connectable in said circuit means when a service demand for a landing occurs during location and movement of one of said inductor switch means in the gap between the pair of vane means at said landing.

14. In an elevator system according to claim 13, including (a) respective floor position switch means for odd and even landings in said circuit means, said oor position switch means being of the set and reset type;

(b) second contact means in said circuit means operable by coaction of said inductor switch means with co-operating vane means for setting oor switch means ctn-ordinated with succeeding oor landings and simultaneously for resetting floor switch means co-ordinated with preceding floor landings during movement of said car through said hoistway; and

(c) means for making ineffective a service demand as soon as the respective inductor switch means becomes disengaged from a predetermined one of said pair of vane means.

15. In an elevator control system having vane means in the hoistway and inductor switch means on the elevator car, which is adapted to travel in the hoistway to answer a service demand to or from a floor; control circuit means including respective iirst and second contact means and iloor position relay means for odd and even numbered floors, some of said vane means being grouped in aligned pairs corresponding to odd numbered oors and even numbered iloors, pairs of vane means corresponding to odd numbered floors being spaced from and disposed in staggered relation to pairs of vane means corresponding to even numbered floors, each pair of said vane means being provided with two spaced apart vane sections substantially equidistantly located at either side of the associated inductor switch means when the car is at the level of its respective oor, said inductor switch means being spaced from each other on said car and in registry with associated pairs of vane means corresponding to odd and even numbered floors, so that one of said inductor switch means coacts with vane means corresponding to odd iloors and the other of said inductor switch means coacts with vane means corresponding to even floors, said control circuit means being operable via said rst or second contact means, which are operatively connected to said one and said other inductor switch means, respectively, said iirst contact means conditioning said circuit means for causing energization of position relay means for odd floors and said second contact means conditioning said circuit means for energization of position relay means for even floors, whereby positive floor indication is attained and sequential floor stepping operations are achieved, and means operatively connected with said circuit means for resetting even floor position relays at odd floors and odd floor position relays at even floors.

16. In an elevator control system having an elevator car with a platform and with magnetically operable inductor switch means mounted on said car, groups of vane means located in the hoistway and arranged for coaction with said inductor switch means, when said car travels to and from oors to answer a service demand at one of said floors along said hoistway in either direction thereof; comprising in combination:

(a) one group of said vane means being located as aligned and paired vane sections and being coordinated to odd numbered floors, another group of said vane means being disposed in aligned and paired vane sections and being co-ordinated to even numbered floors, said vane sections co-ordinated to said odd numbered floors being arranged in spaced and staggered relation to said vane sections c0- ordinated to said even numbered floors;

(b) said inductor switch means including one located for registry with said vane sections co-ordinated to said odd numbered floors and one located for registry with said vane section co-ordinated to said even numbered floors;

15 s (c) a respective one of each pair of vane sections depending on the direction of travel of the car being determinative of corresponding oor stepping switch `operations caused by the coaction of said inductor switch means with said respective one vane section; and (d) electric circuit means including odd and even floor relay means, and respective oor position relay means operatively connected to said inductor switch means for setting car travel in a predetermined direc- References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,741,755 Galanty Apr. 10, 1956 3,030,607 Wagner Apr. 17, 1962 3,048,239 Schibli et al. Aug. 7, 1962 

1. A SELECTOR ARRANGEMENT FOR PROVIDING AN ACCURATE INDICATION OF THE LOCATION OF AN ELEVATOR CAR AS IT TRAVERSES ITS HOISTWAY FROM ONE FLOOR TO ANOTHER IN SEQUENTIAL ORDER; COMPRISING: (A) SWITCHING MEANS ACTUATABLE DURING TRAVEL OF THE CAR IN SAID SEQUENTIAL ORDER; (B) SAID SWITCHING MEANS INCLUDING TWO SWITCHES EACH HAVING ASSOCIATED THEREWITH A GROUP OF SWITCH ACTUATING MEANS; (C) THE SWITCH ACTUATING MEANS OF ONE GROUP BEING MOUNTED IN THE HOISTWAY IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH EVEN NUMBERED FLOORS AND THE SWITCH ACTUATING MEANS OF THE OTHER GROUP BEING SIMILARLY MOUNTED IN THE HOISTWAY IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH ODD NUMBERED FLOORS; (D) EACH OF SAID SWITCHES BEING MOUNTED ON SAID ELEVATOR CAR AND BEING OPERATIVE WHEN THE CAR''S POSITION BRINGS SAID SWITCH IN COOPERATIVE RELATION WITH A RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID SWITCH ACTUATING MEANS SUCH THAT ONE OF SAID SWITCHES IS OPERATED AS THE CAR APPROACHES EACH EVEN NUMBERED FLOOR AND THE OTHER OF SAID SWITCHES IS OPERATED AS THE CAR APPROACHES EACH ODD NUMBERED FLOOR; (E) ELECTRIC CIRCUIT MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF SAID SWITCHES AND EFFECTIVE WHEN ACTUATED TO CONTROL THE TRAVEL OF SAID CAR, EACH SAID ELECTRIC CIRCUIT MEANS BEING ALTERNATELY RESPONSIVE TO THE ACTUATION OF ITS ASSOCIATED SWITCH; (F) SAID ELECTRIC CIRCUIT MEANS INCLUDING MEANS PROVIDING A VARYING INDICATION OF THE FLOOR LOCATION OF THE CAR AS IT TRAVERSES ITS HOISTWAY. 